Edible Apple

Remember the Dell DJ, Dell’s not surprisingly unsuccessful attempt to go toe to toe with Apple in the MP3 player market? Originally released in 2003, the Dell DJ never did much of anything besides become one of the many devices to meet their maker at the hands of the Apple iPod. In typical fashion, pundits like Paul Thurrot touted the Dell DJ as the device to finally take on the iPod. After all, for a comparable price, the Dell DJ offered users a lot more storage. But in a scenario that has played itself out countless times, a elegant user experience was ultimately and decidedly more appealing to users than a spec sheet. The user interface on the Dell DJ was wonky and the industrial design somewhat laughable.

At the time, Dell CEO Michael Dell boasted, “We are revolutionizing technology for our customers — again.”

Dell ultimately axed its MP3 player project in 2006.

Laughably, the company had plans to revive its MP3 player initiative in 2008, years after the iPod had already laid claim to the entire market. Expectedly, Rob Enderle was involved in the effort and claimed that this was finally going to be the device to beat Apple at it’s own game. Once Dell decided not to pursue its 2008 MP3 player strategy (really?!), Enderle went all Charlie Sheen and idiotically claimed that Apple manipulated public perception as to cause Dell to stop development.